Our first integrated campaign for Levi's is a call-to-arms with an
optimistic message: "Go Forth."
As the sweat of New World desperation enveloped the West Coast of America in 1873, the Levi's brand was born. In recent times, the deep sense of purpose that birthed America has been obscured. Now is a time of self-reckoning, not dissimilar to the America of back when. With the words of Walt Whitman, Levi's is using inspiration of old for new times. Whitman was an optimist at a time when it was easier to be a pessimist and believed in the strength of the individual. He lived through the Civil War, one of the darkest periods in American history, and drew strength from the struggle.
The inaugural TV spot "America" sets the tone for the new campaign: America is going through a challenging time, but the American spirit of self-reliance will persevere. The audio used in the commercial is widely believed to be an original wax recording of Walt Whitman reading four lines of his 1888 poem “America.”
Shot locally in Portland, "O Pioneers" expands on the Go Forth message with a 1950's Smithsonian recording of Walt Whitman's poem “Pioneers! O' Pioneers!” playing over footage of new American pioneers.
In print and OOH, the Go Forth campaign sets out to capture the spirit of young American pioneers and provide some honest inspiration. Something to remind us how the individual is resilient, strong, and capable of anything. Photographer Ryan McGinley's work embodies this Go Forth spirit. For the last six years, he has photographed friends on road trips across America and has made his name as one of the leading young artists of the new generation. He captures the energy and freedom of youth with wit, honesty, and feeling.
Levi.com - Check out the site here.
NYT July 4th ad.
Interactive turns the Go Forth message into a call to action, drawing inspiration from the historic want ad placed by famous explorer Ernest Shackleton. The New Declaration is a fresh look at the document that founded this country, letting people add their own voices, thoughts, and opinions to the original text.
The New Americans is an interactive art project, asking people to submit their videos, images, thoughts, and feelings about this country. It's a collective look at the state of our nation today, one that will paint a portrait of the voices in a changing country.
Credits:
Creative Directors: Danielle Flagg & Tyler Whisnand
Creative: Julia Oh, Julia Blackburn, Azsa West, Rudy Adler, Jennie Hayes, Rob Kendall, Ben Carter, Zambuki
Account Management: Shelley Stevens, Maggie Entwistle, Tamera Geddes, Diana Gonzalez, Taryn Lange
Interactive: Sean O'Brien, Kris Hanson, Jason Tarantino, Trent Johnson, Guillaume Mathieu, Nathan Bell, Destin Young, Sage Baggott, Christine Ellsworth, Christine Vo, Mark Shepherd, Nick Bauer, Kiem Vu, Scott Kleiner, RENNY!
Studio Artist: Steven Denekas, Loren Boggs, Erin Sorenson, Christina Piluso, Karen Koch, Paul Levy
Studio Manager: Lis Moran
Strategic Planning: Andy Lindblade, Allison Bonner, Christina Perry
Media: John Rowan, Jon Carlaw
Project Manager: Jane Monaghan, Stacy Grogan, Emily Longfield
Retouching: Kyle Pero
Proofreading: Brie Spicer, Liz Upchurch, & Rachel Miller
Print Producer: Deborah Hyde
Art Buyer: Natalie Flemming
Directors: M.Blash, Cary Fukanaga
Broadcast: Jeff Selis, Elliot Graham, Julianna Montgomery
JOINT: Patty B!, Peter Wiedensmith, Elliot Graham, Terra Cloyes
Business Affairs: Teresa Lutz, Jessica Sinn, Cynthia Valenti
PR: Joani Wardwell, Christin Spagnoli, Jane
Accounting: Tara Allender
As the sweat of New World desperation enveloped the West Coast of America in 1873, the Levi's brand was born. In recent times, the deep sense of purpose that birthed America has been obscured. Now is a time of self-reckoning, not dissimilar to the America of back when. With the words of Walt Whitman, Levi's is using inspiration of old for new times. Whitman was an optimist at a time when it was easier to be a pessimist and believed in the strength of the individual. He lived through the Civil War, one of the darkest periods in American history, and drew strength from the struggle.
The inaugural TV spot "America" sets the tone for the new campaign: America is going through a challenging time, but the American spirit of self-reliance will persevere. The audio used in the commercial is widely believed to be an original wax recording of Walt Whitman reading four lines of his 1888 poem “America.”
Shot locally in Portland, "O Pioneers" expands on the Go Forth message with a 1950's Smithsonian recording of Walt Whitman's poem “Pioneers! O' Pioneers!” playing over footage of new American pioneers.
In print and OOH, the Go Forth campaign sets out to capture the spirit of young American pioneers and provide some honest inspiration. Something to remind us how the individual is resilient, strong, and capable of anything. Photographer Ryan McGinley's work embodies this Go Forth spirit. For the last six years, he has photographed friends on road trips across America and has made his name as one of the leading young artists of the new generation. He captures the energy and freedom of youth with wit, honesty, and feeling.
Levi.com - Check out the site here.
NYT July 4th ad.
Interactive turns the Go Forth message into a call to action, drawing inspiration from the historic want ad placed by famous explorer Ernest Shackleton. The New Declaration is a fresh look at the document that founded this country, letting people add their own voices, thoughts, and opinions to the original text.
The New Americans is an interactive art project, asking people to submit their videos, images, thoughts, and feelings about this country. It's a collective look at the state of our nation today, one that will paint a portrait of the voices in a changing country.
Credits:
Creative Directors: Danielle Flagg & Tyler Whisnand
Creative: Julia Oh, Julia Blackburn, Azsa West, Rudy Adler, Jennie Hayes, Rob Kendall, Ben Carter, Zambuki
Account Management: Shelley Stevens, Maggie Entwistle, Tamera Geddes, Diana Gonzalez, Taryn Lange
Interactive: Sean O'Brien, Kris Hanson, Jason Tarantino, Trent Johnson, Guillaume Mathieu, Nathan Bell, Destin Young, Sage Baggott, Christine Ellsworth, Christine Vo, Mark Shepherd, Nick Bauer, Kiem Vu, Scott Kleiner, RENNY!
Studio Artist: Steven Denekas, Loren Boggs, Erin Sorenson, Christina Piluso, Karen Koch, Paul Levy
Studio Manager: Lis Moran
Strategic Planning: Andy Lindblade, Allison Bonner, Christina Perry
Media: John Rowan, Jon Carlaw
Project Manager: Jane Monaghan, Stacy Grogan, Emily Longfield
Retouching: Kyle Pero
Proofreading: Brie Spicer, Liz Upchurch, & Rachel Miller
Print Producer: Deborah Hyde
Art Buyer: Natalie Flemming
Directors: M.Blash, Cary Fukanaga
Broadcast: Jeff Selis, Elliot Graham, Julianna Montgomery
JOINT: Patty B!, Peter Wiedensmith, Elliot Graham, Terra Cloyes
Business Affairs: Teresa Lutz, Jessica Sinn, Cynthia Valenti
PR: Joani Wardwell, Christin Spagnoli, Jane
Accounting: Tara Allender
Oh, thank god the W+K blog isn't dead. Whew.
Posted by: what? | July 09, 2009 at 03:16 PM
NEVER!
Posted by: W+K | July 09, 2009 at 03:23 PM
great work people
Posted by: FAFSA | July 09, 2009 at 06:36 PM
As all around the world ,we know Michael Jordan is the super star in NBA .His quotes is one of my favorite ,that is .“I can accept failure, but can not accept to give up.”He always called the god of basketball ,air jordan.He never give up while fierce competition.
Posted by: air jordan shoes | July 10, 2009 at 02:27 AM
great work - is it a global campaign or just for us yanks that can be proud to be yanks again?
Posted by: liz | July 11, 2009 at 03:02 PM
i don't mean to be rude, but this is so not WK. and neither is it Levi's. at first, i felt this was some kind of a joke-post. but, looking at the amount of work posted, you don't seem to be kidding. what in the world is this?
Posted by: kedar | July 13, 2009 at 05:08 AM
LOVE IT!
Posted by: jake | July 13, 2009 at 09:02 AM
Living in Australia, I never really took much notice of the lyrics to your national anthem (until i saw your Marvin Gaye Nike ad)...
I think this work distills the sentiment and the words in that song so powerfully and really makes it relevant to modern America again. You've captured the foundations of chaos and struggle that the USA was built on so perfectly... and asked a new generation of kids to dust themselves off and get on with it. Walt Witmans poems are the icing on the cake.
Well done to all involved.
Posted by: Age | July 13, 2009 at 07:52 PM
Why hasn't anyone commented on the Heil hitler hand salute?
Posted by: Steve | July 15, 2009 at 11:26 AM
I have to say, I do not like this campaign, i seen the ads on some websites, I think it is kinda lame, and kinda weird in a way.
I went and seen transformers 2 and they showed a pretty long commercial, and it just is kinda "wtf was that" feeling to it.
Just my thoughts.
Posted by: josh | July 17, 2009 at 09:53 AM
Congratulations W&K! You just copied the same concept that March Forth clothing has been pushing for six years!
www.marchforthclothing.com
Posted by: MF34 | August 03, 2009 at 03:48 PM
Ummm...Think I am pretty sure I have seen this before in the action sports scene, and pretty sure March Forth Clothing Company has promoted "March Forth for a long time" Wow, hate the state the obvious but looks like a copy, paste recycle. Great Pictures though!
Posted by: T. Kline | August 03, 2009 at 04:37 PM
I think this whole campaign is a insidiuos media attempt to "socialize" our younger generations with communistic propaganda using our own Constituition and a great American poet. What does a topless young girl and a Hail Hilter salute have to do with an American Pioneer? NOTHING! The Soviet Union used the established organization of Boy Scouts and reinvented it to suit their demonic purposes and called the youth "Pioneers". Hmm? Could it be true, that Levi advertising personnel and creators of this ad have a different agenda than that of true Americanism? I for one have stopped purchasing any Levi products and am spreading the word of how evil this ad really is. Don't be duped!
Posted by: N. Packer | October 11, 2009 at 05:28 AM
Great work W+K. Many people seem scared / angered by it, so you know it's good. My take here:
http://www.rickliebling.com/2009/10/27/levis-goes-forth-finally/
Posted by: Rick Liebling | October 27, 2009 at 06:20 AM
Hilarious. yes, you know its good if your intent was to scare an anger people. The basis of every great campaign. "Lets see, how can we scare and anger the public into not buying this product..." Great work W+K!
Posted by: D. Corso | January 02, 2010 at 07:44 PM
Don't try to hard,the best things come when you least expect them to. Don't cry because it is over,smile because it happened.
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Posted by: EnidDunlap28 | March 02, 2010 at 07:02 AM
Andy Lindblade, Allison Bonner, Christina Perry
Posted by: China Wholesale | March 05, 2010 at 06:13 AM
what's your name? bmx
Posted by: metin2 yang | March 18, 2010 at 12:07 AM
Don't try to hard
Posted by: Nike Kicks | March 25, 2010 at 07:57 AM
great job
Posted by: jane | April 07, 2010 at 05:44 PM
fuck
Posted by: jane | April 07, 2010 at 06:00 PM
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Posted by: jane | April 07, 2010 at 06:01 PM
A good education gives a man a great pull.Take no discount designer bags on sale thought for tomorrow.
Posted by: jane | April 07, 2010 at 06:02 PM